You'd be forgiven for thinking that it was some new restriction on free speech in Communist China. But it isn't. The U.S. Government wants to force bloggers and online grassroots activists to register and regularly report their activities to Congress in the latest astounding attack on the internet and the First Amendment. Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of GrassrootsFreedom.com, a website dedicated to fighting efforts to silence grassroots movements, states:
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"Section 220 of S. 1, the lobbying reform bill currently before the Senate, would require grassroots causes, even bloggers, who communicate to 500 or more members of the public on policy matters, to register and report quarterly to Congress the same as the big K Street lobbyists. Section 220 would amend existing lobbying reporting law by creating the most expansive intrusion on First Amendment rights ever. For the first time in history, critics of Congress will need to register and report with Congress itself."
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In other words Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats may redefine the meaning of lobbying in order that political communications to and even between citizens falls under the same legislation.
Under current law any 'lobbyist" who 'knowingly and willingly fails to file or report." quarterly to the government faces criminal charges including a possible jail term of up to one year.
The amendment is currently on hold.
This latest attack on bloggers comes hot on the heels of Republican Senator John McCain's proposal to introduce legislation that would fine blogs up to $300,000 for offensive statements, photos and videos posted by visitors on comment boards.
McCain's proposal is presented under the banner of saving children from sexual predators and encourages informants to shop website owners to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who then pass the information on to the relevant police authorities.
Despite a total lack of any evidence that children are being victimized en mass by bloggers or people who leave comments on blog sites, it seems likely that the proposal will become legislation in some form. It is well known that McCain has a distaste for his blogosphere critics, causing a definite conflict of interest where any proposal to restrict blogs on his part is concerned.
In recent months, a chorus of propaganda intended to demonize the Internet and further lead it down a path of strict control has spewed forth from numerous establishment organs:
During an appearance with his wife Barbara on Fox News last November, George Bush senior slammed Internet bloggers for creating an "adversarial and ugly climate."
- The White House's own recently de-classified strategy for "winning the war on terror" targets Internet conspiracy theories as a recruiting ground for terrorists and threatens to "diminish" their influence.
- The Pentagon recently announced its effort to infiltrate the Internet and propagandize for the war on terror.
- In a speech last month, Homeland Security director Michael Chertoff identified the web as a "terror training camp," through which "disaffected people living in the United States" are developing "radical ideologies and potentially violent skills." Chertoff pledged to dispatch Homeland Security agents to local police departments in order to aid in the apprehension of domestic terrorists who use the Internet as a political tool.
- A landmark legal case on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America and other global trade organizations seeks to criminalize all Internet file sharing of any kind as copyright infringement, effectively shutting down the world wide web - and their argument is supported by the U.S. government.
- A landmark legal ruling in Sydney goes further than ever before in setting the trap door for the destruction of the Internet as we know it and the end of alternative news websites and blogs by creating the precedent that simply linking to other websites is breach of copyright and piracy.
- The European Union, led by former Stalinist and potential future British Prime Minister John Reid, has also vowed to shut down "terrorists" who use the Internet to spread propaganda.
- The EU also recently proposed legislation that would prevent users from uploading any form of video without a license.
- We have also previously exposed how moves are afoot to clamp down on internet neutrality and even to designate a highly restricted new form of the internet known as [url][URL="http://www.google.com/se...planet.com"][COLOR=#0000ff]Internet 2[/COLOR]
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"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficient. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."
-- Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

Last night, the U.S. Senate approved the Bennett amendment by a vote
of 55-43. American citizens will remain free to organize and contacttheir congressional representatives without being forced to complywith federal regulation and oversight.

We have reports from Congress that your outpouring of calls made the
difference.

Thank you so much for making the time and sacrifice to call your U.S.
Senators asking them to support the Bennett Amendment to Senate Bill 1
(S. 1), the "Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007."

The Bennett amendment removed section 220, the grassroots lobbying
provision, from S. 1. Section 220 would have redefined lobbying to
include "paid efforts to stimulate grassroots lobbying." Entities
that engaged in grassroots lobbying would have had to comply with all
federal lobbying disclosure laws, including registration with Congress
and the filing of quarterly reports to Congress, or face serious
consequences.

With the successful passage of the Bennett amendment, the Senate's
attempt to place federal control over virtually all grassroots
lobbying activity has been defeated.

Immediately after the Bennett amendment passed, S. 1 was passed with
amendments by a vote of 96-2.

HSLDA will continue to watch as this legislation goes to the House of
Representatives. It is possible that a House version of this bill
will again attempt to regulate grassroots lobbying. We will notify
you if more calls are necessary.

The Bennett amendment would not have passed without the calls and
support of you and millions of other concerned citizens. The senators
who supported the amendment were very thankful for your calls and
credited them with this victory.

Since you speak the truth and I don't like it, I'm going to shut you up by desecrating the Constitution again. Friggin elitists can't handle the truth and probably will be successful at supposedly saving the children from predators. Give me a break, using fear once again against the people to control them.

" George Bush senior slammed Internet bloggers for creating an "adversarial and ugly climate."
- The White House's own recently de-classified strategy for "winning the war on terror" targets Internet conspiracy theories as a recruiting ground for terrorists and threatens to "diminish" their influence.
- The Pentagon recently announced its effort to infiltrate the Internet and propagandize for the war on terror.
- In a speech last month, Homeland Security director Michael Chertoff identified the web as a "terror training camp,"through which "disaffected people living in the United States" are developing "radical ideologies and potentially violent skills." Chertoff pledged to dispatch Homeland Security agents to local police departments in order to aid in the apprehension of domestic terrorists who use the Internet as a political tool.

You know they wouldn't have disaffected americans to worry about if they just quit sodomizing the constitution.